Districts
Hergig is currently organised into eight districts which are officially recognised by the Council of Hergig.
Gänsenest
Gänsenest — AKA
Goose Nest — is found at the eastern extreme of the southern bank of the
River Kiefer, and is comprised mainly of warehouses, lower-middle class offices, cheap tenements, and the commercial dockyards of Hergig. Gänsenest is known as a hotbed of organised crime and gang violence, with the various steverdore gangs holding more sway than the Watch. Due to the criminality of the district, and the presence of so much trade via the docks, there is an extremely high divide between rich and poor here.
Gänsenest's representative in the Grand Prince's Court is
Alderman Jorge Eining, working-class dock organiser.
Notable landmarks:
- The fledgeling Church of the Blooming Rose,
- The offices of the Nordland Timber Concern,
- The Hergig Commercial Dockyards,
- The Großermarkt, the largest open-air commercial market in Hergig.
Gelehrtestadt
Gelehrtestadt — AKA
Scholartown — is found at the northern extreme of the nothern bank of the
River Kiefer, and houses the newly built Universität, the Akademie des Krieges, and the dormatories and offices that supply both. Gelehrtestadt has been designed as a self-sufficient miniature town, with its own markets, taverns, and even brothels, in the hopes that the city can attract scholars from all over the Empire to revitalise the culture of Hergig.
Gelehrtestadt's representative in the Grand Prince's Court is
Alderman Dirska Barwedel, deacon of the Universität.
Notable landmarks:
- The University of Hergig (Universität),
- The Academy of War (Akademie des Krieges).
Geschenk
Geschenk — AKA
The Gift or
Matthias's Gift — is an old tenement cluster located in the south-east of Hergig on the south bank of the
River Kiefer. Originally designed as a charitable donation of public housing by the extremely devout Shallyan Elector Count Matthias Ludenhof-Tussen over a century ago, the tenements are sturdy, well-built, and surprisingly glamorous... all aspects which have enabled them to survive the intervening decades of neglect. Geschenk is now a rotting shadow of its former self, though in recent months efforts have been taken to refurbish the tenements, as the poor residents have been evicted in favour of middle class refugees from Neuhof.
Geschenk's representative in the Grand Prince's Court is
Alderman Ada Worderner, a respected frau from what is now Neuhof.
Notable landmarks:
- Matthias's Clocktower,
- The Blessed Hospice of Our Lady of Everlasting Mercy, a hospital.
Krampfseite
Krampfseite — AKA
Cramp Side — is the most south-eastern district on the south bank of the
River Kiefer. A recent creation, annexed off from the rest of Geschenk by popular outcry from the new residents of Geschenk, Krampseite is little more than a dumping ground for the displaced people who used to live in the Geschenk tenements, and the mess caused by relocating them. Krampfseite is a lawless place where fires are common, and people are living in tents as much as the broken-down warrens created by all the slanting buildings toppling into one another. Krampfseite is now, by far, the most overcrowded spot inside the walls of Hergig, and authorities fear that is could be a hotbed for disease or even rebellion.
Krampfseite currently lacks an official representative in the Grand Prince's Court, and is instead counted among the municipality of Geschenk.
Notable landmarks:
- The Tin Spar, a fighting pit.
Nachfeld
Nachfeld — AKA Afterfield — is a district outside the western walls of Hergig on the south bank of the
River Kiefer. Originally a farming village on the outskirts of the city, as Hergig grew is joined with the walls and served as the primary food market ever after. Old laws place smaller tariffs on small quantities of goods passing through the local gate — the Hoftor — meaning it is a natural place for business to be conducted. However, these laws also make smuggling easier, and Nachfeld is as such a hotbed for clandestine trades and the blackmarket. Since the Storm, and the relocation of the Dwarfs out of Dawihafen, Nachfeld has become increasingly overpopulated, and is now bulging at the seams, leading to tension between the old residents and the Dwarfs. Nachfeld is sometimes nicknamed "Nachtfeld" (Nightfield) due to how dangerous is gets after dark.
Nachfeld's representative in the Grand Prince's Court is
Alderman Ophelia Machholt, matriarch of the influential Machholt family of farmers.
Notable locations:
- The Produce Market,
- Der Altemann Wartet (only technically, in that it sits outside the walls of Hergig).
Neuhof
Neuhof — AKA New Home or New Hope — is the northern-most district on the south bank of the
River Kiefer. Much of Neuhof was once known as Dawihafen — AKA Dwarfhome — until it was destroyed during the Storm of Chaos, and reallocated by
Elector Count Aldebrand Ludenhof as a new district, combining the Royal Dockyards, the Akademie der Kampfmagie, and the Überbeobachter. Neuhof is currently undergoing reconstruction, and is the site of tensions between the original Dwarf residents and the new influx of upper middle-class entries.
Neuhof currently lacks an official representative in the Grand Prince's Court, and is overseen directly by the Grand Prince. Various concerns in the city are vying for the position of Alderman, including representatives from the Merchants' Guild.
Notable locations:
- The Royal Dockyards,
- The Akademie der Kampfmagie,
- The Überbeobachter,
- The Hergig Merchants' Guild.
Rinnsal
Rinnsal — AKA The Trickle — is a loosely defined district on the north-western bank of the
River Kiefer, climbing up the slope of the Hochhügel. Rinnsal is less a district and more a collection of walled estates and gated communities, reserved for the richest of the rich, and the ancestral homes of the greatest noble houses in Hochland. Rinnsal is patrolled by small private armies which exist due to ancient treaties between the noble lords of Rinnsal and the
Grand Prince of Hergig, making the estates semi-autonymous within the walls of the city. At the peak of the Hochhügel is the
Falkenschloss, the great castle of the Grand Princes.
By tradition, Rinnsal is exempt from official representation in the Grand Prince's Court, and is instead each landowner who lives there is able to represent themselves or by proxy. There are seven landowners in Rinnsal, not including the Grand Prince himself:
Baron Georg Helmholtz, Baron
Gregor Auerbach, Baron
Reiner Landsteiner, Baron
Wolfram von Hutten,
Count Rudiger von Heeden, Count
Torsten von Schiller, and
Margrave Sigismund von Tussen.
Notable locations:
- The Falkenschloss,
- The Helmholtz Estate,
- The Auerbach Estate,
- The Landsteiner Estate,
- The von Hutton Estate,
- The von Heeden Estate,
- The von Schiller Estate,
- The von Tussen Estate.
Wanderung
Wanderung — AKA the Ramble — is found on the southern bank of the
River Kiefer, and comprises the geographic and historic 'centre' of Hergig, given it is its oldest district. Now populated mostly by lower middle-class folk, Wanderung is a place of business and livelihood, where the majority of the everyday people and industry of the city operates. Wanderung is very old, and built on top of itself, leading to many twisting alleyways and thin streets (hence the name), which have given rise to habitual fires and a modicum of street crime. There are vocal efforts to rebuild parts of Wanderung, especially since the contractors are already present given the construction going on in Neuhof. Wanderung is also believed to be where many of the insurgents during the Storm of Chaos originated, leading to significant damage being visited upon the district, despite its relative safety from the seige on the northern bank.
Wanderung's representative in the Grand Prince's Court is
Alderman Ermen Muhlstein, a wealthy businessman and tavern owner.
Notable locations:
- The Emperor and the Bear Tavern.
